The fine art of goal-setting: setting written goals gives organizations an advantage.

• Author: Romeo, Jim
• Position: GENERAL

You've heard it before: you have to have goals. As simple as it sounds, most of us do not have specific goals written down. If we do, we don't maintain them by revising them as time goes by. Goal-setting can be the difference between success and failure in the business world. It is the basis of business achievement and development. Today, many businesses use proverbial goal-setting to start, grow and expand their business.

"We set a goal to double our business in the Anchorage office within one year with the same guidelines and security we have always demanded of our collateral," says Jeff Gross, president, GOH Lending, based in Anchorage and Costa Mesa, Calif. The firm specializes in subprime lending for automobiles.

"We are a private company, and once the opportunity for secure subprime lending grew, our pool of interested investors grew, too. To maintain our high level of success while growing, we hired two new employees and expanded our network of working relationships. We began securitizing our collateral further by installing GPS devices in the cars. We've since reached our goal and continue to grow with new opportunity and new capital invested."

It worked for Gross, but how would it work for you? Just how do we become more astute at setting goals, implementing them and monitoring our progress toward them?

Diane Katz is president of The Working Circle Teambuilding, an organizational consulting firm. She believes everyone should have goals that are measurable, time-bound and specific. In addition, she says, "if you can't measure the goal, how will you know if the goal has been accomplished?

"When setting goals, make sure the consequences are clearly defined--both negative and positive--if the goals are met or are not met," she adds. "After goals are set, they should be visited at least once a quarter--informally is the best way, with a formal review every year. Keep monitoring them, talking about them--they are the focus of the organization and the employees. If changes need to be made mid-course, make them and discuss them--don't discard them."

Kenneth Hart is president of Cornerstone Advisors, an employee-owned and operated wealth-management firm based in Bellevue, Wash., with customers throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

Hart sees the process of goal-setting as a critical step in order to achieve results.

"In my personal experience, the process of goal-setting is every bit as important as the resulting goals themselves," he says. " A process of goal-setting that is repeatable engenders collaboration and buy-in across the organization, and empowers...